Two satellites, Iridium 33 (an American satellite owned by Iridium Satellite LLC) and Cosmos 2251 (a Russian satellite, inoperative for ten years), collided in orbit at an altitude of 780 km over Siberia. No fewer than 6,000 satellites have been placed into orbit since 1957. Iridium, a Maryland-based company that operates a constellation of 66 satellites that provide coverage for areas beyond the reach of telecommunications networks, has announced that it is ready to replace the satellite with a new one.
